EVANSVILLE, Ind. – In the second extra-innings game in a row for the Evansville Otters, they opened a new series against the Gateway Grizzlies with a heartbreaking 4-3 loss at Grizzlies Ballpark on Friday night.
Starting pitching was tremendous from both sides. The Otters’ (32-43) Zach Smith went six and two-thirds innings, allowing two runs with eight strikeouts and just one walk. For the Grizzlies (45-30), they hoisted Lukas Veinbergs on the rubber going seven and two-thirds allowing a pair of runs.
Scoring opened up in the fifth with a Gateway homer. Answering in the top of the sixth, JJ Cruz blasted one to right, evening the game at one. It was Cruz’s first professional home run, RBI and run scored.
Gateway again jumped ahead in the bottom of the seventh with one touching home on a wild pitch, but the Otters had another answer in the eighth. David Mendham led off with a triple, and Cruz picked up his third hit of the game with an RBI knock to right.
With pitching taking over again, the game went into extras.
In the tenth, Mendham blistered a ball to right which scored Mason White as the go-ahead run to make it a 3-2 game. However, former Otter Leoni De La Cruz (1-1) shut his old club down afterward, later stranding runners on second and third before taking the win.
Michael McAvene (1-5) pitched in the final frame for Evansville. With an inherited runner on second, he gave up a leadoff triple allowing the tying run to score. The next batter followed with a sacrifice fly, ending the game with a Gateway walk-off win.
The Otters out-hit Gateway nine to seven, led by Cruz in a three-for-four effort with two RBI. Mendham also had a multi-hit night and drove home the other run.
Tomorrow, Evansville will look to even the series against the Grizzlies. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT. Coverage is available on the Otters Digital Network and FloBaseball.
